Beware The Frozen Heart
by Nennymon
Summary: On the eve of Princess Anna's wedding, there arrives a ship holding the royal family of Navia. On board is the queens doom...and her survival. Strangely enough, Kristoff and Sven have disappeared, and a chill can be felt from the North Mountain. Rated M for lemons later in the story, Lesbian ElsaxApriline, Straight AnnaxKristoff/AnnaxJudas
1. Chapter 1

Apriline had heard the stories—as everyone had. When the fjord, the very one she was passing through now in fact, had thawed and the ships set free from their icy keep, dukes and lords alike left Arendelle with news of magic and terror, beauty and adventure, death and destruction...but all accounts had the same central figure. The queen. Some said her skin was blue and dead, with blind white eyes and a pig's face. Others told of a young woman, fair and lovely with glittering ice hair and love that no one could ever dismiss for her people and sister. Despite the physicality, however, her journey was the same. She was frightened and lost...then suddenly...reborn. Gone was the frightened girl who ran from her troubles, and now, a queen of courage sat on the throne of Arendelle.

Apriline could hear the sounds of the small port from her place on the deck. Tugging her shawl tighter around her shoulders, she turned on her heel to return to her room on the royal ship. It was almost time to dock, and according to Father they would be staying in the small country long enough to wed the Queen Elsa to one of her unfortunate brothers. The game would be difficult, she concluded, looking back over her shoulder at the docks. It seemed there were hundreds and hundreds of ships, each with at least 1 player. The game of crowns would begin in the morning, as preparations for the Princess Anna's wedding began. Each suitor would dress finely in shades of blue and white and speak sweetly, hoping to grab the queen's attention and eventually love.

"How foolish," she heard herself mutter, climbing the narrow steps. The room she stayed in was simple and small. Each of her brothers also had their own quarters on this ship, however cramped they might be. The boys had it easy, for each room had barely enough space to fit her full skirts. With a short, hard bed and vanity without a bench, the sparse furnishings were hardly what royalty were accustomed to, and several of the princesses her father made her befriend would have rather missed the adventure than stay in them. The journey was almost over, though. And soon, it would be impossible for her to stay indoors no matter the cold.

She sat down on the bed, letting out a soft sigh and looking around her. She remembered coming here as a child, jumping on the very same bed with such excitement.

"Where are we going papa?" She would ask,

"Some place incredible, and don't you spend a second of the day doubting it, my little princess," he would answer, leaning with his ankles crossed and shoulder against the narrow door jam.

Back in those days, her father still believed in joy and adventure. After their mother died, the King stopped traveling with his children, chastising each with a sharp tongue when asked, and no longer permitting them on the vessel except for business. Apriline guessed that this counted.

The painful truth was she hardly remembered her mother. She had been only seven when the Queen Mary of Navia passed away. Apriline could recall her fair, sweet smelling hair as she leaned down to kiss her good night, and the sound of her singing voice. After her death, the King ordered the portraits taken down, any sign of the queen removed and replaced. King James drew into himself, making it his duty to marry off his 6 children—he would joke so he could be truly alone. She believed it was because his children reminded them of the wife who he had loved and lost.

Her brother's all had heads of strawberry blonde hair and the bright blue eyes she wished she could remember. There were 5 of them, and each worse than the last save the youngest Elias. They could sing a pretty tune, at least until the cage was covered and they were no longer in view of the public. Auden was the eldest. Late in his 27th year, he was also the most handsome. A strong jaw with those aqua eyes, a regal nose, and broad shouldered. He was like a snake, though. Cunning and ruthless, often conspiring and gossiping, spreading his venom. After him would be the twins, Roger and Mikhal. As children they had been ill at the same time, and spent much of their time amongst each other. The result being whiny adults at 25, tall and what some would think lithe and elegant until the light would dim, and each looked gaunt—as if their childhood illness still haunted them. Then came Judas, rumor in their kingdom was he had blood on their hands, and not even Apriline knew the truth. He was the fairest of them all, with dark circles under his eyes. He was still handsome, but in the way that left you on your toes—off balance. He was quiet to the point of unsettling...it was easy to see why the rumors stuck.

Elias was like her, having never knew their mother and therefore not scarred by her absence. But he was a frightened thing, apologetic and nervous. He was aware that his older brothers blamed him for the loss of their mother, for after birthing him she became ill. It took two years for her to finally pass, but still they managed the blame him 12 years later. Apriline was just...lost. Shy and often going unnoticed, she was literally the black sheep of the family. She had her father's thick dark curls and brown eyes, with a face sometimes compared to her mother's by overly polite lords and ladies. However, her cheek bones were too sharp, with a thin, upturned nose and a small mouth. Her lips were an ashen pink, which paired with her pale skin that never blushed made her look like a corpse. She was also as nervous as her younger brother, often fidgety and uncomfortable in a crowd of people. The discomfort only grew when around her family, she often wondered if that would ever be remedied or if she was doomed to feel like a stranger amongst her own blood.

Looking around at the now empty room, she couldn't help but realize that her childhood was lost as well. She was 19, but as custom in her country as royalty, she would not be wed till her 20th year. And then, well...she was to be paraded around as prize cattle, and then sent to the butchers to have all she was bled out. Only then the feast would begin, and she would be up for the highest bidder. Prime cuts of meat and muscle to be consumed and used, then tossed aside for mistresses. All knew how the lives of the royals went. Privilege came with sacrifice, and she had unwillingly traded free will and love for rich silks and political games that hardly finished before another began.

And as the boat bumped gently against the dock, she thought, and not for the first time, how she would end her life.

Arendelle was a buzz with gossip, and it seemed the only thing the plethora of rumors had in common was that her sister's groom was missing. Elsa watched from the window in her room, listening to Anna throw things around down the hall and watching her people telling stories to justify the soon to be prince of Arendalle's dissaperance. It was upsetting the queen as well, but somehow, she still clung to the mantra she was raised with, as if it were formed into her DNA. "Conceal, don't feel." And so she did, and she put on a show for her sister. She would be strong while her sister grieved. She must feel as if she had lost everything, first with the betrayal of Hans, and how with the seeming betrayal of Kristoff.


	2. Chapter 2

Arendelle was buzzing with gossip, yet it seemed the only common ground in the rumors was the fact that Kristoff—brave, loyal, incredible mountain man Kristoff—was nowhere to be found. Elsa was standing outside her sister's closed door, unsure of how to break the news for the second time that day that the groom was still missing. Her hand was raised as if to knock on the white painted door, wondering if this is how Anna felt all those years. Nervous, discouraged, and scared. Maybe not because of rejection on Elsa's part, but the fact that so soon after her isolation, she'll be expected to comfort the abandoned bride just on the other side of that oaken door. She didn't know if she could do it. No…It was silly to compare the unorganized emotions in Elsa's head to the ones Anna felt all those years. Anna had been left, with no knowledge as to why. They both had lonely childhoods, both behind different kinds of locked doors, both feeling different things. That in mind though, Elsa had a duty. She would have to revive her old mantra: conceal, don't feel, and put on a show. Put away the fear, ignore the uncertainty, and be the sister that Anna deserved and she owed.

Taking in a deep breath, Elsa rested her hand against the solid barrier between the two girls. She let it out, closing her eyes and then with a sudden surge of courage, the snow queen spoke.

"Anna, do you want to build a snow man?"

Almost instantly, the door flung open. Standing there in pale green silks and unbraided hair was her beautiful and broken sister, whose face was covered in snot and tears.

"Yes," Anna managed, her voice breaking. Her face crumbled and she lurched into Elsa's arms. The queen held the crying girl with one hand on her head and one arm around her waist, as their mother had done whenever Elsa had a particular upsetting time in those early days. Nobody else had wanted to hold her then…everybody was afraid. Even the butler Kai, they never…She could feel herself falling, her fingers beginning to tingle…not even her father would touch her…only mother…no. She curled her fingers and held her sister tighter. She willed away the selfish thoughts, about how easy it would be to just…let it go. Instead, she held on tightly to the warmth of her sister. Her brave, brave little sister. Who, though under the heavy scrutiny of their people, stood on her own feet. Her heart was breaking, yet she opened the door and still let others in. Elsa had come to realize that there was fierce courage in Anna's vulnerability. It had shown all those months ago when she sacrificed herself, and then unfolded more so in the time since, leaning on her, on Kristoff, and on the people who loved her so dearly.

As Anna pulled back, wiping the tears from her cheek, Elsa smiled leaned back was well. Her voice was soft and alluring as she whispered, "How about we arrange a trip to see The Babies?"

There was an almost instantaneous brightening in Anna's eyes, and an almost instantaneous darkening. "I can't…I have to wait for Kristoff. It's not too late yet."

"Anna—"

"I'm not giving up on him Elsa. He'll make it," her lips smiled, but her blue eyes didn't. "I have to get ready, would you help me?"

Elsa looked down, gathering her strength. She wasn't brave like Anna. Anna was going to walk down the aisle with no groom, for she knew it was expected of her. Kristoff had failed her, leaving days before they were set to take their vows, and yet…she was looking over her shoulder at the dress that Elsa had created for her. She had stepped back, out of her sister's arms, and was standing alone. She wasn't vulnerable in that moment…no…she was stronger than any magic Elsa had. And what was the queen to say? _"No Anna, you're only going to cause yourself more pain. The show of strength is not worth the torture it will do to you to stand at that alter, to recite your half of the vows..."_ Anna would not listen to that. Those unsmiling eyes were determined. So Elsa pressed her lips together, put on her best show, and nodded.


End file.
